Men’s Tennis Falls to Surging Penn State

After starting its season with a pair of wins, the men’s tennis team dropped a decisive 6-1 decision to No. 39 Penn St. on Saturday. Freshman Jon Jaklitsch notched the only victory for the Red, defeating Jake Toole in the No. 5 spot, 4-6, 7-5 (10-8).
Junior Joshua Goldstein and sophomore Jon Fife both lost sets in a tiebreak, while junior Kyle Doppelt put up a strong front against Penn St.’s No. 1 singles player Michael James, currently ranked No. 51 in the nation.
[img_assist|nid=27671|title=You got served|desc=The Red was­ unable to avoid the vicious attack from the No. 39 Nittany Lions this weekend, losing 6-1.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]Though the match was much closer than the score would indicate, the rest of the match’s results were not in the Red’s favor. Despite the Red’s best efforts in front of a crowd of ardent supporters backing the team, the Nittany Lions’ doubles duos swept Cornell.
“Obviously, we were disappointed, but we know Penn St. is a good team and that it was going to be a challenging match,” said freshman Jeremy Feldman, who teamed with Goldstein for an 8-3 loss at the No. 2 doubles spot. “We’re looking forward to the matches against Michigan St. and Western Michigan. It’ll be another opportunity to come away with a big win.”
The Red will head to the Midwest two weeks from this weekend to take on Western Michigan, currently the defending champions of the Mid-American Conference, and the Spartans of Michigan St., currently 7-3.